Temporary teaching certificate clears final hurdle

Published
6:00 pm CST, Friday, April 2, 2004

A measure that would allow college graduates with no formal education training to teach eighth through 12th grade students has won final approval.

The State Board for Educator Certification unanimously approved the controversial plan on Friday. It will grant two-year certificates to college graduates who pass the state's teacher exams and have a degree in the subject they plan to teach.

The board also approved a list of guidelines crafted by a committee of 14 representatives from school-related organizations. The list suggests that school districts give teachers with the new certificate 80 hours of training before school starts and another 300 during the two-year period.

"We are not putting obstacles in their way," board member Adele Quintana of the Dumas School District was quoted as saying in Saturday's edition of the San Antonio Express-News. "We are trying to make sure they have the support they need to succeed."

The board was divided when it first voted on the plan in November, but they reached a consensus by adopting the guidelines.

The plan's supporters argued that it will help address a teacher shortage in Texas.

But several teachers groups opposed it, saying students should not be put in a classroom with an ill-prepared teacher.

Mike Crouch, a spokesman for the Texas Association of Professional Educators, told the Houston Chronicle that the new standards for mentoring and pre-service training addressed many of their concerns.

But Richard Kouri, a spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, said his group is disappointed that the state approved this plan instead of increasing pay to attract more qualified teachers.

"You can't talk about raising standards for students at the same time you're talking about lowering standards for the people we put in classrooms to teach our kids," Kouri said.

School districts can employ teachers with the new certificate for next school year. Teachers who receive a favorable recommendation from their school district at the end of the two-year period can obtain a standard certificate to teach that is good for five years.